The Scarlet Letter blog #5

Quote 1:
"[Dimmesdale] besought his friend to continue the care, which, if not successful in restoring him to health, had in all probability, been the means of prolonging his feeble existence to that hour" (Hawthorne 125)

Analysis 1:
Chillingworth has completed his mission to gain complete control over Hawthorne's life. Dimmesdale would like nothing more than to die and forget his sin, however Chillingworth is prolonging his miserable existence. Admitting his sin is a fate worse than death for Dimmesdale. Chillingworth is pushing Dimmesdale's buttons by attempting to make his sin the topic of conversation. One can logically predict that this will become expeditiously easier as Chillingworth has linked Dimmesdale physical illness to his mental anguish. Chillngworth is simply waiting for a formal confession of Dimmesdale's sin before he can cast his final judgement. Chillingworth is like a teacher who had just been pricked by a pin he had sat on. Who saw his student (Dimmesdale) walk into class earlier that day with an excessive amount of pins and a smirk on his face. Chillingworth has the probable cause to suspect Dimmesdale, but he is still awaiting a verbal confession.

Quote 2:
"Had a man seen old Roger Chillingworth, at that moment of his ecstasy, he would have had no need to ask how Satan comports himself when a precious human soul is lost to heaven, and won into his kingdom" (Hawthorne 126).

Analysis 2:
What makes Chillingworth such a dangerous villain? The answer is very simple, it is his reason for originally seeking vengeance. Chillingworth has a legitimate reason for extracting vengeance. His wife was successfully wooed by another man who only sought to sweep the incident under the rug and leave the incident Scott free. In the play Othello, Iago was almost a perfect villain. He was intelligent, duplicitous, and fought most of his battles through mental warfare. His one great downfall was the fact that he was without a motive for tormenting Othello. He was evil for the sake of being evil. Consequently Othello showed him no mercy in the end. In contrast, Chillingworth has a motive which Dimmesdale cannot question him on. Compared to the Brave Othello, the frail reverend Dimmesdale does not have the ability nor the right to defend himself against Chillingworth's vengeance. Most people can empathize with Chillingworth in the sense that most have experienced some form of betrayal. In short, The reader does not hate Chillingworth as much as Iago.